Workshops
Workshops
Workshops are free or low-cost community cooking and skill-building classes co-led by community members and the Sankofa Garden team.
Gardening 101 by Lori Caldwell
Learn how easy and fun gardening can be!! Join me to learn the basics to be a successful first-time gardener. Topics will include deciphering garden terminology, plants 101, healthy soil building, transplanting and plant choice by season, seeds vs. starts, non-toxic pest control, reuse in the garden and tips and tricks.
Eat What You Grow by Lori Caldwell
There is nothing more satisfying than eating food from your own garden. We will cover topics such as: crop rotation, seeds vs. starts, soil fertility, and plant succession, transplanting seedlings, watering /irrigation and the best crops for your garden. Emphasis on reuse materials will also be discussed.
Gardening for Renters by Lori Caldwell
Are you a renter who wants to garden? This class can help you navigate small spaces so you can! Topics will include container gardening, indoor gardening, working with your landlord, free/low-cost resources, reuse options & maintaining your garden
Big Gardens in Small Spaces: The Adventures of Container Gardening by Lori Caldwell
This class is geared toward people who don’t have a lot of space and want to grow their own food. Topics such as: maintaining soil fertility, best plants for container gardens & crop rotation will be covered. Growing in containers is a great way to start a garden or add on to maximize your already existing garden possibilities!
Cooking from the Garden/ Grow, Cook, Eat by Chef Shelby
Wondering what to do with what you’ve grown? Wondering how to cook with “in season” locally grown food? Running out of ideas of what to cook? Explore some interesting and quick recipes to celebrate fresh food!
What I Eat and How I Feel Series by Free Brown
We will explore the impact of dietary and nutrient intake is having on mood, behavior, and well-being.
Wellness Through Gardening Series
by Free Brown
Horticultural therapy helps improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. In physical rehabilitation, horticultural therapy can help strengthen muscles and improve coordination, balance, and endurance. In vocational horticultural therapy settings, people learn to work independently, problem solve, and follow directions.
Microgardening
Space is a premium commodity in urban communities across the globe. Many of our community members live in apartment complexes with minimal indoor space for living, let alone outdoor space to grow fresh food for their household. One of our goals is to address food autonomy and empowerment, by providing education and food access with take-home Microgardening materials and instruction kits. Microgardening is the practice of intensively “farming” food or plants in well-designed, small urban spaces. Gardens can grow in containers, bins, flowerboxes, or even coffee cans. Microgardens are designed to be highly productive, energy and space efficient, sustainable, affordable, and grown in healthy living soil. We will host virtual workshops to teach participants to garden within the limitations of their home.
Our target demographic will be low-income, youth, and elderly. We will distribute kits to residents and community members to help them plant vegetables and herbs in their homes using 5-gallon buckets, coffee tins, or whatever else is available. Sankofa Garden will supply the seeds, soil, and other basic items. Kits are estimated to cost between $10-20 each. We will offer payment via EBT or scholarships for community members who cannot afford to pay. We will also sell Microgardening kits to non-community members in the greater Oakland area as a means of annual fundraising.